“What’s up Kannon, this is Jimmy Garoppolo here with the 49ers. Just wanted to wish you luck, man,” Garoppolo said, standing outside the 49ers locker room. “I know you went through the same process as me with the ACL and everything.

“I just want to let you know tough times don’t last, tough people do. So stay strong and good luck tomorrow and the rest of the way. Tear it up this year, man.”

That support meant the world to Dote, who tore his right knee’s ACL a year ago before his junior season.

“Thank you so much @JimmyG_10 for the good luck wishes in tomorrow’s season opener,” Dote tweeted, with the video attached. “An ACL injury ain’t gonna keep either of us down. #ComebackSZN”
San Francisco 49ers quarterbackJimmy Garoppolo (10) answers questions from the news media while wearing a knee brace following a training camp practice at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, Calif., on Thursday, Aug. 1, 2019. (Anda Chu/Bay Area News Group)

As Dote (6-foot-3, 190 pounds) prepared for his senior year, he attended multiple summer camps at college programs in California, Oregon and Nevada.

Meanwhile, his dad, Tom, sought the perfect knee brace for his son. Sure enough, that search was aimed at a particular model: Garoppolo’s.